A defiant Corbyn has refused
to resign and said he has the support of the
party's membership and must do right by them by putting his name
on the ballot paper if a leadership election was called.

But he may not be able to even be considered as a
candidate, even though he is the leader right now.

Former Business Secretary Angela Eagle and current deputy leader
Tom Watson are being discussed as potential challengers to
Corbyn.

However, despite being the incumbent, Corbyn is not guaranteed to
even be on the ballot paper.

This is because Labour politicians, who looked into the
possibility of ousting the left-wing politician last year,
were issued legal advice that Corbyn would need to
secure the nominations of 38 MPs and MEPs before he could
officially enter the contest, according to a Times article published in November.

This is crucial because just 40 MPs backed Corbyn in the
vote of no confidence vote. Of course, this number
surpasses 38, but only very narrowly. If a small
handful of Labour MPs change their minds or are persuaded to back
a challenger instead, then it is totally possible that Corbyn
would not be able to stand for his own position.

The Times report said that GRM, a law firm that has carried out
constitutional work for the Labour party in the past, informed
Labour politicians that being the party's leader
does not guarantee Corbyn a place on the ballot paper.

It is important to note that this is not just a
theoretical argument. In 1988, the party's then-leader Neil
Kinnock had to secure fresh nominations from members of his party
after he faced a leadership challenge from MP Tony Benn.

But it just as important to note that not everyone in the party
shares this view of how the contest should take place. Corbyn's
supporters maintain that as leader Corbyn will automatically be
on the ballot paper, according to the BBC.

Ultimately, whether Corbyn automatically enters the leadership
race or not will be determined by the party's chief
administrative body the National Executive Committee
(NEC).

Yesterday, thousands of people gathered outside Westminster to
rally in support Corbyn — which lends credence to Corbyn's
claims that while he may not have the support of the party's
politicians, he has the support from party members.

This is other key reason for why anti-Corbyn factions
in the party will argue that the leader should be required to
receive a certain amount of nominations before he can enter the
contest.

He is deeply unpopular with his own MPs but Corbyn would be
regarded as a favourite if he entered the leadership contest. He
won a whopping 59.5% of the vote when he became the leader last
year and still enjoys support from large numbers of party
supporters.

It is for this reason that the NEC's decision will be so
important for the anti-Corbyn factions of Labour that are hoping
to get rid of the current leader.